He’ s also considering Romney for secretary of state and reportedly has offered onetime primary opponent Ben Carson a job as secretary of housing and urban development.

Other vanquished foes who have met with Trump during the transition period include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was the first to endorse him, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and ex-Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin popularized the “Team of Rivals” theory with her best-selling 2005 biography of Abraham Lincoln, which Steven Spielberg later turned into the Oscar-winning movie “Lincoln.”

In Lincoln’s case, his team included William Henry Seward, whom the 16th president tapped as secretary of state after scoring an upset win over Seward at the GOP nominating convention.

Two other Republicans who lost the presidential nod to Lincoln also wound up in his cabinet, with Ohio Sen. Salmon Chase becoming treasury secretary and ex-Missouri Rep. Edward Bates being named attorney general.

President Obama notably embraced the “team of rivals” approach by picking Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state following their bitter primary battle, during which she infamously attacked his lack of experience to handle a “3 a.m.” White House phone call.

Obama also chose as his running mate Delaware Sen. Joe Biden despite a gaffe in which Biden described him as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”